1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to board games wherein players attempt to achieve global domination by a series of simulated military attacks between territories on a map, and particularly to a game in which said attacks may be carried out by conventional forces, tactical weapons and strategic nuclear weapons.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art related to global domination board games generally incorporates simulated conventional military attacks of limited scope, and thus are lacking in realism when compared to the weapons capabilities of the major world powers of today. Also, none of the games in the prior art simulate the combinations of population, resources and technology which are necessary to produce nuclear weapons systems and which distinquish the major world powers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,410 to McNeil discloses a war-type board game simulating the War of the Roses fought in fifeenth century England. Player piece movement and the outcome of simulated battles are primarily determined by drawing individual cards from two packs.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,299,731 to Ireland, player pieces are moved on a may which shows a portion of the surface of the planet Earth with emphasis on Europe and western Asia. The map has a grid overlaying it, and player pieces are moved along the grid with movement being similar to that of checkers. No attempt is made to actually simulate battles between the various national powers, and no provisions are made for weapons of varying strength. There are no playing cards used in the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,273,292 to Smith relates to a board game in which the object of the game is to conquer all other countries of the world. The game board comprises a map showing an equatorial projection of the planet Earth with a grid overlaying it and a circular track therearound. Various countries are identified, and each country has an arbitrary value in money and a military power value assigned to it. The circular track around the map is divided into segments having various instructions relating to expenditures of money and losses or gains of military power. A world bank is a depository for all money transactions. The outcomes of simulated battles are determined by comparing the relative values of money and military power. No playing pieces are actually laid on the map except for flags indicating control of various areas.
Another board game is "Risk" manufactured by Parker Brothers which has a game board with an equatorial projection of planet Earth thereon showing the continents divided into a plurality of territories. The object of the game is to conquer and control all territories by simulated battles between armies of adjacent territories. No provision is made for attacking and conquering non-adjacent territories or for weapons of varying strength. The outcome of the simulated military battles is determined by comparing the roll of dice by the player of the attacking country and the player of the attacked country. According to the instructions in "Risk", the game is based on an old French game.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,756,604 to Laszlo is one game which provides for nuclear weapons. However, player movement is limited to rolling dice and moving around a circular track. No attempt is made to simulate actual military movement on a planetary surface. The timing and outcome of military battles is primarily determined by playing cards.